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Carlos Sainz says Williams must go “back to the drawing board” after a difficult Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend in which both he and team-mate Alex Albon finished outside the points. Sainz said: "Looking back at it, I think it's been a bit more of a shock of how far we are in medium and high-speed corners [behind], partly due to weight, but even more important, the downforce that we have in the car. So I think it's time to go back to the drawing board and start bringing more things to the car, because clearly in a medium speed track we are very far [behind]."
Isack Hadjar said Red Bull’s start procedure is “way too complicated” after a poor getaway at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix dropped him from sixth on the grid to 14th. Hadjar said: "We need to fix these issues because the procedure is way too complicated. I'm not a computer, I'm not a machine, I can't be 0.0001% precise. It's not working."
Lewis Hamilton’s first grand prix win for Ferrari at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix triggered street celebrations across Italy, with fans sharing social media footage of anthem singalongs, classic Italian cars and Ferrari and Hamilton flags. The victory was Ferrari’s first of the season and ended Hamilton’s win drought dating back to the 2024 Belgian Grand Prix. Reflecting on the milestone, Hamilton said: “They are all special in their own way but this one is something else,” adding: “I’d always watched the screens and wondered what it would be like to win in that car - and it’s come.”
Red Bull has formally appealed the Monaco Grand Prix results to the FIA International Court of Appeal, RacingNews365 reports, mirroring an appeal McLaren announced on Tuesday. The appeals follow the FIA’s decision during the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix weekend to reinstate Pierre Gasly to third after voiding two five-second penalties for alleged pitlane speeding due to a Monaco timing-loop error, a change that dropped Isack Hadjar from a maiden Red Bull podium to fourth. McLaren said it believes the case raises “important questions concerning sporting fairness, regulatory consistency and the integrity of competition”.
Fred Vasseur says Ferrari must “stay calm” after Lewis Hamilton’s first grand prix win for the team at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, insisting the situation has not fundamentally changed from the previous week. Vasseur said: "Nothing changed today compared to last week. The result is different. The outcome of the race is different. The commitment of the guys in the garage in Maranello from Lewis, from Charles [Leclerc], didn't change compared to last week. And we have to stay calm with this. It's not that today everything is magic, and last week it was not."
Pierre Gasly says it would be wrong for Alpine to lose his Monaco Grand Prix podium again after his pit-lane speeding penalties were rescinded following a Right of Review. Gasly said: "I'm just going to make something clear. I know what we did. I know we were driving at 59 km/h in the pit lane and we've been accused of driving over 60, which wasn't the case. So I think what I'm going to say is that it should not be right to penalise me for something that we haven't done just because others got penalised. If a potential mistake was done once, twice, three times, is there a reason to do it a fourth time?"
Ferrari boss Fred Vasseur says this season’s Formula 1 titles will be decided by how well teams develop their cars rather than Ferrari’s Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix form, after Lewis Hamilton won for the team in Spain. Vasseur said: "But I think what is important is that this season, the championship will be based on the capacity of the team to develop, not on the picture of Barcelona. Usually, in the last 25 years, we would say that a good car in Barcelona would dominate the season, but I think this season, it would be much more based on the capacity of all the teams to bring performance to the car."
McLaren has confirmed it has appealed the Monaco Grand Prix stewards’ decision to rescind Pierre Gasly’s two five-second penalties for pitlane speeding, a ruling that promoted the Alpine driver to third and dropped Oscar Piastri from fourth to fifth. The penalties were overturned after an Alpine Right of Review hearing found Gasly’s pitlane speed had been overestimated because the pitlane length had been measured incorrectly. McLaren said the late removal of penalties raised “sporting fairness” and “regulatory consistency” concerns. Mercedes has also requested a Right of Review, while Red Bull has indicated it is considering an appeal.
Mercedes team principal Toto Wolff says the team will hold talks with George Russell and Kimi Antonelli about how it manages their racing when another team is involved in the fight for victory. Wolff said: "We didn't interfere in them fighting because that's how we've always raced. But it's a situation we need to look into for the future with both drivers, how to handle a situation where there's a pace differential if we are fighting for a victory or the risk of losing a victory. That's going to be an interesting discussion, but always totally transparent to the best interest of the team."
Max Verstappen said it was "clear" Red Bull are still behind Ferrari, Mercedes and McLaren after finishing fourth at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. Verstappen said: "It's clear that we're still behind Ferrari, Mercedes, and McLaren. Because I basically finished behind each one of them. So we're still, I think, P4 as a team, maybe a little bit better, but it's still not where, of course, we want to be. It's a work in progress. I hope very soon that we can pick up a little bit more in performance."
Oscar Piastri says he does not yet have “any answers” for why he struggled for grip and tyre life during the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix, where he finished fifth. Oscar Piastri said: "No, not really. I was trying a lot of different things and running into a lot of different problems, so I think just struggling a lot with grip, tyre life, obviously. So I don't have any answers at the moment. I'm sure there will be some answers later, but yeah, it was a surprise to struggle so much."
Lewis Hamilton admitted he had moments of self-doubt about whether he had “lost it” after moving to Ferrari, before taking his first win for the team last weekend. Hamilton said: "Then after a year like last year, there was definitely moments that I was like, 'Sheesh, maybe it is true that, you know, when you get to a certain point, you lose it.' But I've proven that you don't. You always have it and it just takes work. It takes perseverance, that constant believing in yourself to tap into your inner self and keep yourself alive."
Lewis Hamilton said he “nearly passed out” celebrating with Ferrari after taking his first race win for the team at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix. Hamilton said: "Then be in that red suit, standing in first place in front of that amazing crew who was singing the national anthem. I nearly passed out after I hugged them. My heart was exploding with joy."
Red Bull team principal Laurent Mekies said the team expected a “reality check” at the Barcelona-Catalunya Grand Prix because the circuit layout would expose weaknesses in its package. Mekies said: "We were expecting that reality check in Barcelona. The first track with a long straight, the mid-speed, high-speed corners... it's probably the first time after China and Japan that we've come back to this sort of track. We were expecting a different performance compared to Monaco, where we could suddenly fight for pole."
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